Today, the Art Theater begins showing the film Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, while its late-night show remains Mad Max: Fury Road. These films prove to be quite thought-provoking, reflective pair. Me is a Sundance-sweeper filled with relatively unknown actors, with a clever tone and genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. It sounds like it has a girl protagonist although it is about a contemporary suburban boy who, out of fear, makes the choice to treat everyone close to him as acquaintances, even the dying girl, whose death is expected but barely registers.
Mad is a big-budget all-star action movie, which deserves awards but is generally dismissed for being a genre film with explosions. It sounds like it has a male protagonist, although it is really about a woman’s search for freedom and redemption, where each death is expected but is pronounced and significant. Do yourself a favor and go to both, and contemplate the duality of the double-feature.